Rochester Institute of Technology
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Thesis/Dissertation Collections
12-15-2014
The Foundlings
Nadia Adams
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Recommended Citation
ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of
The College of Imaging Arts and Sciences
School of Art
In Candidacy for the Degree of
MASTER OF FINE ARTS
Thesis Approval
Thesis Title:
The Foundlings
Thesis Author:
Nadia Adams
Chief Advisor: Tom Lightfoot
Signature: ___________________________________________________
Date: ___________________________________________________
Associate Advisor: Luvon Sheppard
Signature: ___________________________________________________
Date: ___________________________________________________
Associate Advisor: Sarah Thompson
Signature: ___________________________________________________
Date: ___________________________________________________
Department Chairperson: Glen Hintz
Signature: ___________________________________________________
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my profound appreciation to my committee— Tom Lightfoot,
Luvon Sheppard, and Sarah Thompson for their guidance, endless patience, and support
throughout this thesis work. I also wish to thank Keith Howard, Alan Singer, Bob
Heischman and Cory Card for their ideas, support, and inspiration. When I began this
journey I truly could not have known just how fantastic the company would be. I would
also like to thank my father, and my friends, for their continual love and support.
ABSTRACT
The Foundlings
is an exploration of memory and absence through the use of found
objects and photographs. In this thesis, memory is understood through the use of the domestic
space and the objects found within. The relationship of photography to memory is an integral
part of this work. Specifically in the use of found and constructed imagery as related to the
family album.
The Foundlings
uses sculpture, painting, photography, and projection to
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION ... 6
2. CONTEXT... 7
Past... 7
Present/Undergraduate Work... 10
Present/Graduate Work... 11
Present/Turning Point………... 12
3. INSTALLATION ...15
Interior as a Timeline... 17
Interior as a Space of Divided Energy...17
4. CONCLUSION ...18
5. WORKS CITED ... 20
6. Appendix 1 ... 22
Original Proposal... 22
7. Appendix 2 ... 24
INTRODUCTION:
In drawing a picture, the child seems to project a desire or, perhaps, an attempt to possess the object; if not actually having it, at least having an image of it...Claude Levi Strauss writes that art is based on the illusion of being able to not only communicate with the being but also to possess it through the medium of
the image.1
Objects are what matter. Only they carry the evidence that throughout the centuries, something really happened among human beings.2
The desire to possess the intangible, a moment or an emotion, is what attracted me to
photography. The photograph gives the illusion that somehow, what has left us can be maintained. It is
the conduit through which the viewer is connected to both the past and the present. The photograph acts
as a window or a door through which we can experience the past while still being in the present. In
thinking of the photograph I am drawn to the object, the photograph that was carried in a wallet, held
and admired, with worn corners and the handwritten inscription on the reverse side. This in many ways
exemplifies my perception of the relationship we have with objects. The subject of the photograph is not
literally contained within the photograph, but the idea of it, its essence remains. It can be held, admired,
thought upon, touched, through the paper photograph. Over time the meaning of the photograph may
change but the image remains, a remnant of a moment.
Though the moment can never truly exist again, the photograph is rooted in a reality that did
exist. The subject was once present; the landscape, or objects are known to the viewer as having been
actual or true. The truthfulness of a photograph may be debated to some degree but for the sake of this
discussion the focus is on the elements that can be perceived as true. This aspect of photography has
historically led to the association with terms such as evidence and proof, and in turn was the focus of the
investigation from which The Foundlings arose.
The Foundlings approaches memory and absence through the context of found imagery and
objects. At the beginning of this journey I found myself asking many questions rooted in the same source.
1
Joseph H. Di Leo, "4: Mostly Affect: The Child Draws a House," in Interpreting Children's Drawings (New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1983), 40.
2
Can the absence of lost loved ones be found in the empty spaces that remain? Are these spaces presences
in themselves – is absence something rather than nothing? Can this feeling of presence be recreated and
seen outside of us? And ultimately is it possible to take that presence with us? This exploration started
with the photograph and led to other types of objects and materials. I was especially concerned with the
relationship between those who interact with the object when the original owner is no longer in
possession of it. What remains after we are gone? What proof is left behind to substantiate that I, or
anyone else, was once a presence, rather than an absence.
The Foundlings is an installation piece designed to explore this idea of absence and presence. It is
a fictional room, implying a domestic space, created from found objects and materials. The objects have a
presence of their own but they also have the history of their previous owners. It seemed appropriate to
use these to explore both memory and absence. The contents of the installation space were collected to
reference my personal experience but also to serve as a reminder of the value of the experiences of
others.
CONTEXT PAST/before and after:
In attempting to understand my work, it is impossible not to mention the artist Christian
Boltanski (1944-). He is a self-taught French, artist whose work centers on the use of both objects and
photography.3 He has worked in a variety of media, however, his thoughts and work with photography
resonate greatly with my own. He has worked with lost objects that range from metal tins, to
photographs, to clothing.4 His work memorializes the everyday object, with particular emphasis on
objects that speak to the presence of an individual.
Photographs of people have this terrible quality, they say this person existed but they tell us nothing about them…we just know that they were someone…For a long time I tried to preserve what I call intimate memory, this means that someone is someone because he knows for example where to buy a good quiche in Paris, he knows two or three jokes, he knew what love was and he could talk about it. And then all this which makes up a person very quickly vanishes.5
3 Contacts: Vol. 3 - Christian Boltanski (France: Arte Video, 2004)
4 Christian Boltanski, "Studio: Christian Boltanski," Tate, December 1, 2002, accessed December 8, 2014,
http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/articles/studio-christian-boltanski.
5
In The Foundlings the desire was to find, in the mundane, the aspect of intimate memory that I
felt was missing. This element translated to a desire to create a sense of presence, but because the
“intimate memory” of the other was lost to me, I had to reference my own. On one hand this exploration
references found photographs and objects as an effort to recreate my own ‘intimate memory’ through
the lives of others. On the other hand, it is also an act of preservation. “Someone said you die twice, you
die when you die and you die a second time when someone picks up a photo and no one knows who you
are.“6This observation by Boltanski has stayed with me over the years. And though I may not know the
identity of the images or objects I reference in The Foundlings, I would like to believe that some of the
presence of the person remains and that they are not truly forgotten.
It is because of Christian Boltanski’s work with photography and his ability to articulate his
process that I am able to find greater understanding in my own artistic explorations. My process of
working is a cycle of layering and unearthing. As much as my personal history is a factor in building the
foundation for this work, Boltanski’s thoughts on his own work have been a continuous undercurrent.
Though I can interpret my work through my own history and aesthetic decisions, a great deal of my work
is built on the memories and thoughts of others. It is through understanding the experience of the other
that I can better understand myself.
...In fact, we don't learn anything about this particular family, we learn about ourselves. When we see the little child on the beach, for example, we already know this photo. We remember our first time on the beach or the photo of our little brother. We learn images very early and thereafter we have plenty of images in our head.7
There are key experiences in my life referenced in this work. These events are categorized as
points that create an awareness of a between before and after. I was raised as a first generation/second
generation American of Ukrainian descent. My cultural identity until the age of 18 was developed and
defined by the customs of the Ukrainian-American community in which I was raised. This was a nearly
complete immersion that included not only schooling and after school activities, but religious or spiritual
customs as well. A great deal of my upbringing can be attributed to my maternal grandparents, whose
stories built the foundation of my childhood. This is where I learned the distinction between before and
after. There were stories from before World War II of family members who only survived in photographs,
of places that survived only through their vivid descriptions at the kitchen table. There were photo albums
of handsome, smiling relatives who will only exist for me in photographs, their entire lives encapsulated
into one moment, which may be (only slightly) further informed by an inscription on the back. These
stories existed before me, before the war, before I was even concerned about such matters.
To this day those photographs are sentimental for me, even though I no longer remember the
stories. They prove that my grandparents were young once, that there was a world where they belonged
outside of the category of "immigrant" or "survivor." The photo album contained photographs my
grandfather had taken himself. The album contained all of those who had not made it to my
grandmother’s kitchen table – proof that my grandmother had so many siblings they would not have all
fit. Out of the dozen siblings between my grandmother and grandfather, less than half even made it to
America. I was lucky, they said, meant for something, because my grandparents should not have made it
either. My childhood was filled with ghosts and photographs.
Around the age of 18 I became estranged from my family, my culture and sense of self. I was
surrounded by a sense of exile and I was adrift. This was another key moment, the turning point of before
and after. I had no sense of who I was without my culture, I had no sense of how one starts over entirely.
When I arrived in New Orleans I was afraid and thankfully not completely alone. I was truly in the care of
many strangers who had no reason to be as good to me as they were. The city itself is astonishing in its
preservation of history and time. The tenacity and dedication of those who live there, in a place that
should not exist (it is below sea level), has always been astonishing to me. I worked to build a new life
there and after a few years and much struggle, eventually arrived on the west coast, and then back to the
east coast to finish my undergraduate education.
During this time hurricane Katrina hit and I was startled to find that many of the places I had lived
and people I had known, had been irreparably altered or destroyed. Amongst many feelings, I did not
know how it would be possible to return to my home if it had simply vanished. This made me realize that
that place, the wood, the stone, the tangible texture within, to ground myself. Photographs and memories
are important to me, but the grounding that comes from the actual object is equally necessary.
Perhaps it is a product of getting older or having experience. Places appear as before and after to
me. New Orleans now is layered over Katrina New Orleans, which is layered over my New Orleans at 19
years old. I see it and the memories appear to creep up behind me and startle me, the way I worried my
relatives from the photographs would during my childhood. I can no longer simply see a familiar
landmark, I see before and after and all the memories compiled into one single image.
I want to put my life in a box to preserve it and keep hold of everything...But this is an illusion, because we preserve things, but at the same time we do not preserve anything.8
CONTEXT PRESENT/undergraduate work:
In the beginning of my photographic work as an undergraduate, the layering of images was
integral to my process. I started by photographing existing spaces through windows and reflections to
create a layered effect. I started layering images digitally on the computer, and through this realized that
the interaction with the tangible object was integral to me. The act of layering gave the image a ground,
rather than cutting out pieces and creating something entirely new. The image felt more ‘truthful’.
Through working in this method I began to become curious about what exists in absent spaces in
photographs. If photographs represented proof, then what is unseen or hidden? What occurs when the
subject of the image is removed and only the “unimportant” part of the photograph remains? I turned to
the family photographs I had and started putting together the empty spaces. (Plates 01-03)
These images were an exercise in the re-arrangement and dissection of family photographs, in
finding meaning in absence. I had noticed that there was a very large visual space that remained in my
own family photographs, where the subjects were not present. I removed the subjects and reassembled
the empty spaces to see if anything existed in the absent space that remained. Essentially this became an
exercise in investigating what remains in a family photograph without the family element. I desperately
wanted some sort of visual proof of the unseen aspects of my life, the photographs I did not have. Socially
8
we are conditioned to take Kodak moments at important events. We all know them and have them. They
abide by a code and are interchangeable.9 Despite this knowledge I desired them still. The
interchangeable quality of the family photograph suggested that perhaps my own absent memories could
be filled in through the memories of others.
CONTEXT PRESENT/graduate work:
After many stages of my undergraduate work I arrived at a family album full of empty spaces. I
had spent so much time contemplating absence that it seemed a natural progression to create something
that resembles the presence or memories I feel in my life. This development was the basis for The
Foundlings (Plates 04-07). I had reasoned that if I could not find the proper photographic “truth” in my
family photographs, that perhaps I could create it. I was curious if, with the advent of portable projection
equipment, I could finally manifest my ghosts. The original intention was to create an image outside of
myself that could be seen in a lifelike manner in real space. Substituting a person into the flat photograph
was not sufficient as it did not allow for me, as the viewer, to get the true feeling of presence. The next
step was to make this presence more natural—that it could be realized in daylight, for example, rather
than in a dark room as would be necessitated by a projection.
It was at this point that I began to turn to using "found" photographs as my source material.
Found photographs are images that have been lost or discarded. The found photographs were chosen
based on my own aesthetic interest and the tone or expression in the figures or the situation presented in
the original image. Often the photographs feature children or young adults. This is based partially on the
idea that, as children, our families dictate our worldview that constitutes much of our understanding. The
age range centers approximately around the age of reason, or seven years old.10
Because the figures were the central focal point of my exploration, it was important to take them
out of their original context. The goal was to integrate them into my own contemporary space. The
images were then projected into a variety of environments. The projection, layered over the surrounding
9
Contacts: Vol. 3 - Christian Boltanski. France: Arte Video, 2004. Film
10
space, was then re-photographed. This created the final image. The process created an externalization of
the figure that had once been tied to a two-dimensional photographic object. It came as a surprise that
the projections, whether it was their luminosity or their dimensionality, had a life of their own. They did
not appear as I had anticipated and they became something other than what had been present in the
original photograph. The original goal had been to bring the past into a current context, but they took on
a "life" of their own. In my investigation I had been attempting to achieve a solution to a problem. I had
not taken into account the startling moment of having a figure look back at me. Despite the fact that the
subjects were unknown to me, and I had no association with them, I found myself truly startled by seeing
the photograph translate from object to subject.
The question ultimately became how to best treat the presentation of The Foundlings. The
experience of interacting with the figures was lost when they lost their luminosity. Television screens
became too contained. Large prints had presence but no luminosity. The solution to this appeared to lie in
bringing both the images and the environment to the viewer.
CONTEXT PRESENT/turning point:
The major turning point in this work came with the issue of how the images should be presented.
This question forced me to have to work outside my normal parameters. Until this point I had been
working in printed media. To think about creating an entire space was a new perspective. At the time
there had been a recurring theme of the house in my work. The house appeared in many incarnations
(Plates 08-13). The house imagery, reminiscent of a child’s drawing, was the first. This can be seen in the
piece High Water (Plate 08). The imagery quickly developed into the representation of a skeletal
"shotgun" house . The "shotgun" house is a key feature of the New Orleans landscape. The term shotgun
refers to the layout of the house. A shotgun house has no hallways.11 This was to avoid higher property
taxes. The rooms are built in a line with each room adjacent to the next, connected by a straight path of
doorways. The benefit to this was that when both the back and front door of the house are opened, there
is an effective path for ventilation. The term shotgun, referred to this line of sight—suggesting that
someone could shoot a gun from the front door and the bullet would travel through the entire house and
out the back door. There are variations on the shotgun house, but generally they were designed to fit
limited city space and offer much ventilation at the expense of privacy.12 The shotgun house appeared in
paintings and drawings, and on my studio wall. There were paper versions and burned versions, some
were soaked in water with ink. I had gone through so many destructive processes and layers but had not
actually applied this theme in a creative process. This led to the thought about what parameters were
integral to the creation of this space.
The revelation came from a memory of an installation piece by Michael McMillen, The Central
Meridian (aka The Garage).13 The entrance, a hinged door, was the sole portion of the piece visible in the
gallery space. The room itself was unseen as it was set back behind the gallery wall. The effect was
interesting as there was no indication that the door should be opened. This created a feeling of wonder
and hesitation. The door was old and textured, it creaked; the room was completely furnished to look like
a place from another time. The experience was meticulous in detail, and truly affected all the senses. The
moment that remained with me was the action of moving from the gallery space through the doorway. It
was unexpected and allowed me as the viewer to have the time to explore with a sense of intimacy and
privacy. This private space is reminiscent of the intimacy with which a photograph is held and
contemplated. It is the place in which family photographs are taken, the place for contemplation and
memories and curiosity. He discusses The Central Meridian, saying, “It’s best when you’re there by
yourself. It creates a spell and lets you revel in your memory.”14This feeling is what I desired to recreate
for The Foundlings.
Michael McMillen is a California-based artist who uses many found or repurposed objects in his
work. References to history and time are important factors in his work. McMillen also speaks to the use
of objects with history behind them. “We all have so much that we owe to the past, to the people before
12
Malcolm Heard and Scott Bernhard, "1. Types of French Quarter Houses," In French Quarter Manual: An Architectural Guide to New Orleans' Vieux Carré, (New Orleans: Tulane School of Architecture , 1997), 40.
13
"The Central Meridian (aka The Garage)." LACMA Collections, accessed October 27, 2014, http://collections.lacma.org/node/172448.
14
us, to the culture….”15 “I always try to depict my objects with some indication of their own mortality.
Often the buildings are depicted in some state of having a history behind them. I like the idea of things
having a history of their existence prior to when we encounter them.”16 This relationship with objects is
similar to Christian Boltanski's thoughts on the photograph, as well as the identity of the subjects of the
photographs. It speaks to a desire to preserve the 'intimate memory' of a person or an object. While
Boltanski uses the object to speak to the history of a person or a human event, McMillen speaks to, and
creates the places where the history and the events occurred.
McMillen’s work speaks to a love of the found object, which is one that I also share. Until this
point, the found objects and the found photographic works, had not been combined. The goal for The
Foundlings became to create a unified space, a house, to give a place and purpose to the found objects.
The desire was to have this space speak not only to my personal experience but also for it to resonate
with others as well. As much as photographs speak to a subject, objects do as well. They have a presence
of their own, but often they speak to the absence of the wearer, or user.
In fact for a long time I regarded dead bodies, photographs and clothes in the same light. They are objects that are related to the subjects that are absent When you have a photo of somebody you can pick it up –
it's an object – but it's in relation to an absent subject. If you have a used coat, it's also an object in relation to an absent subject.17
There are many contemporary artists who work with found or personal objects. Tracey Emin is
best known for her 1999 Turner prize entry My Bed.18 This work featured her actual bed littered with
vodka bottles, cigarettes etc. It was representative of a difficult time in her life.19 This way of expressing
the personal, intimate experience of her life touches on similar domestic ideas as my own work but in a
different respect. Putting the domestic or personal experience so directly into artwork is an interesting
idea. It speaks to the notion that life and art are not far removed from each other. In The Foundlings,
many of the materials would otherwise be discarded or not seen as valuable. In that sense, a
15 Ibid. 16 Ibid.
17 Andrew Maerkle, "Memory, Too, Fails at Such Excess,"
Art It, July 23, 2010, accessed December 3, 2014, http://www.art-it.asia/u/admin_ed_itv_e/ZBH3nMP8O7gGve9tIQAc.
18Roslyn Sulcas, "Tracey Emin's 'My Bed' Headed to the Tate,"
New York Times, July 29, 2014, accessed December 9, 2014, http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com//2014/07/29/tracey-emins-my-bed-headed-to-the-tate/.
contemporary work like My Bed is similar to my own work. The difference lies in the historical context.
Though Emin’s work and my own speak to personal difficulty, the materials that I am drawn to using
represent a historical time period beyond that of my experience. It is important for me to work with
historical objects as it brings them into a contemporary light and gives them value that may have been
lost. In using historical and found objects I endeavor to highlight that there is meaning in what has been
lost. An object may have a different context contemporarily but it is still relevant. We exist in the world as
individuals but also as a group. Similarly, by referencing the experiences of others, The Foundlings reflects
that we are beings in time, always connected to our past and our future.20 My mirror is the experience of
the other. Rather than showing my own history simply as it is, my understanding comes from the
observation of those around me. Using a historical object gives me the necessary distance from my own
experience to have an objective perspective. Using found historical objects allows for the application of
my own meaning to something that has history but may have lost the original context.
The Installation:
With these ideas in mind I decided to create an installation piece for my thesis exhibition.
Through the installation I could create a unified space where all of the components came together. The
creation of a domestic space, gives a context, and a sense of intimacy. The space suggests the presence of
domesticity but also speaks to something that did not exist. The intention was not to create a replica of a
truth or historical event but a possibility. The truthfulness came from the found pieces collected for the
materials in the installation. Their choices made in the repurposing of the objects speak to my own
experiences. The visitors to the installation bring their own experience and impressions. The space
needed to encourage these thoughts and curiosities.
The placement of the installation in the gallery space was important to me. The intention was to
create as much of a hidden presence as possible. The area was approximately 12’x10’ and hidden under
an overhang in the back left portion of the gallery. From many points in the gallery the entrance could be
seen, however the interior could not be discerned. The space was introduced by an open door of large
20
scale, which created a proportional contrast to the child sized objects and height of the interior space.
(Plate 19)
The interior space is unified by a few consistent visual elements. The wallpaper, which was used
throughout the installation, and the trim, which hangs across the upper portion of the room, and the
repetition of empty picture album frames. The wallpaper speaks directly to my own Eastern European
heritage. It features a landscape of houses and cathedrals from the former Soviet Union. The wallpaper
was commonly found in apartments in the Soviet Union in the 1970s.21 The determined placement height
of the wallpaper was twofold. Firstly, it was based on my own experience in returning to New Orleans.
Though it was well after the time of Hurricane Katrina, marks of the damage still were quite visible. The
height is reflective of the standing watermarks that were still visible on the buildings and surrounding
areas. The other reasoning was to create a reminder of childhood through scale. The house symbols and
shapes that repeat through the installation are similar to children’s drawings, as are many of the objects.
The height of the wallpaper is tall for someone of childlike stature but would appear uncomfortably low or
“off” to an adult.
The second unifying element is the trim. The trim serves as a form of crown molding. It is made
from vintage wooden floorboards. The floorboards are often overlooked, though they are integral to a
house. By taking the floorboards and elevating them, what can be considered mundane can be displayed
as valuable. There is also the metaphor of turning the room upside down, or turning the world on its
head.
The trim features the recurring theme of empty photographic album frames. The empty
photograph appears as the most consistent theme in The Foundlings. It speaks to a search for a sense of
self and an understanding of absence. The absent image is the key to my personal search for proof. It
speaks to an inherent need for a subject and for an unattainable relationship. It represents a missing link.
The use of historical photographic references, the photographs themselves, as well as vintage frames,
negatives and photographic technology, directly speaks to time and the passage of time. Photographs
directly symbolize memory for me, and the absence of the photograph points to the search or loss of
valued time.
The interior as a timeline :
The interior space can also be read from left to right as a personal chronology. The left wall is
bookended by two images, Luminare, who is missing her center and Brother’s Keeper, which features two
siblings. The window shape that is centrally missing from the figure in Luminare, appears in the
background of Brother’s Keeper. Together these figures act as guardians for the wooden chest between
them. The chest, covered in a traditional Ukrainian linen towel, contains children’s wooden blocks made
in house shapes. These blocks are half buried in the dirt contained within the chest, signifying an
unearthing or something hidden. The presence of the figures alternates with the empty clothes that are
on either side of the fireplace. The transition also shifts from individual to the group image and from
personal experience to a more communal one. The left wall speaks directly to my own background and
experience. As the room transitions from the central area to the right wall it speaks to the events of
hurricane Katrina. The group photograph on the right wall speaks to an innocence that precedes the
hurricane. The hurricane lantern remains as the only break in the molding around the room. As the space
continues down the right wall, the images fall away and only a few pieces and objects remain. The final
piece is an empty rope swing. The swing appears as a plaything, but is non functional. It serves only as a
step to the rope, which serves as a way out and over the wall.
The interior as a space of divided energy:
The interior space could be read as two distinct spaces divided (or joined) by a central line of
focus. The left side having the appearance of a more ordered domestic space versus the right side as a
more destroyed or chaotic space. One participant had commented that the space was reminiscent of the
duality of creation and destruction, citing that a clear line could be drawn down the center of the room.
This duality was evident even in small details, such as the placement of the hammer and paintbrush.22
(Plates 33-34) The wallpaper is also presented as neat and orderly on the left side of the room, and
damaged and destroyed on the right side. The objects on the left side of the room are intact whereas
many of the objects on the right are broken or not functional. The color palette also shifts from light to
dark from one side of the room to the other suggesting an association with light and creation or dark with
destruction. A contrast can be seen between the left side of the room appearing as feminine in gender
and the right side more alluding to a male presence. The incorporation of dresses on the left side of the
room and a small child’s coat on the right side gives credence to the perception of a gender-based
division.
The unifying component to both readings of this space is the fireplace, chairs and magic
lantern.23 The central scene is static amongst the swirl of activity around it. The traditional symbol of
gathering around a fireplace is combined with the contemporary symbol of gathering to watch television
or film. In this case the image projected was a static image rather than a moving one. (Plates 32-33) The
figures in the image are out of focus and unidentifiable. They are vague enough to recognize as figures but
their features and disposition are unrecognizable. They are known and yet ambiguous. The mantle
features a painting of a house that, too, is distorted. Though the area is clearly for gathering, the chairs
are too small for most to actually use, and one is broken. The theme of a domestic space is present, but it
is illusory as it cannot fulfill its purpose. (Plate 33)
CONCLUSION :
The actual installation process of The Foundlings taught me a great deal about trusting my
intuition. Because there was a difference between the studio space, in which I had been working, and the
space for the showing; I had to make many last minute decisions. When I completed the final
arrangement I was surprised to see that many of the themes I had in mind when I started work on this
project were very evident in the final result.
The response to the work was interesting. Many of the visitors to the space started telling stories
of what the objects and the space itself reminded them of. People from all different cultural backgrounds
were finding things that resonated with them. This provoked discussions and interactions. I had opted to
not post an artist statement because I wanted viewers to have their own experience and this proved to be
successful. I had also included a book for visitors to draw or write their own idea of home in. I feel I should
have left a description or suggestion with the book as some people commented they wanted to
participate in the book but did not feel comfortable without structure.
Some of the changes I would have included in the final presentation would have been to have a
darker environment with more lighting. Originally I had considered lighting the photographic image pieces
to create an experience akin to the original projections. This may have kept the pieces from falling into
the background. Projection was used for the opening of the reception, and this drew much curiosity. In
the future I would like to work further with incorporating the projected elements, potentially as a
stand-alone piece. In retrospect I can see where my choices regarding what pieces to put in the installation
became bolder and I became more comfortable responding to the space as the installation process
continued. I feel that if I were to recreate it now, it would be much different from what was shown, as this
seems to a process that continues to evolve.
Overall, the challenges that arose throughout this process and the necessity of addressing them,
has made me more confident in trusting my own responses to the work as it continues. Having the ability
to work on The Foundlings taught me a great deal about why I choose to work with the materials I do as
well as gave me the opportunity to create a space that not only resonated with me, but with others as
well. I would not have understood why I need to create the work I do without this experience. It taught
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6. Appendix 1
Original Proposal
The intention of this thesis is to explore the idea of memory through the use of the photograph.
Photography has a personal resonance for me as an artist but it is also tied to a larger contextual idea of
time and memory. The question of how to create a memory for events that should have occurred, but did
not, was what originally inspired this journey. After using my own personal family photographs in my
work I became curious as to how others share their memories. It is because of this that I became
interested in “found” photographic images. During the past year I experimented with projecting images of
children cut from old, found photographs into a variety of places and spaces. I, then, photographed these
composite images and displayed the results on monitors. This process succeeded in creating a new
context for the lost children but I was left feeling that something was still missing – a home.
What creates a home, both in my personal experience and in my understanding of the
experiences I see in the lives of others, has become integral to this work. The people in the photographs I
have been working with need a context. The home is representative of so many things, foremost of the
self, as well as of shared space and a sense of place. This grounding, that comes from having a place to
exist, is necessary not only for the lost images that have been collected for this thesis but also for the
process of understanding memory.
This exploration is a personal one, but it also has its place in the context of a greater community.
I would now like to create a space that can be entered into that goes beyond the static photographic
image. I see the photograph as a conduit that links the past and the present. It holds within it a moment
and because of that it can never exist beyond that moment unless it is brought into another context.
Because I am using the memories of others, and their images, this process shows that the individual
There are many artists who work with found imagery and the use of imagery to bring the
historical into contemporary context. Christian Boltanski has used found imagery in a large number of his
works. Shimon Attie created fascinating works combining historical imagery with their contemporary
architectural counterparts. My work differs from those because I am removing imagery from its historical
context and placing it into my own memories.
The result I am endeavoring to achieve is to take my photographic work into an installation
context. I would like to create an actual space that incorporates my sculptural, projected and printed
work. I am interested in creating a grounded space, where these lost images, and my lost memories, can
Appendix 2
Plates
Disjointed Series
Disjointed Series
Disjointed Series
Wax and Wane
Brother’s Keeper
Luminare
The Foundlings
High Water
(Plate 25)
(Plate 26)
(Plate 28)
